I’m lucky to live in Montclair. Not lucky that our public schools haven’t opened their doors to us since March, but lucky that the MFEE (Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence) organized Healing Huddles for parents/caregivers in town....to help us get through this isolated pandemic and in turn, Ithink, help our children.From the website:
Community members can opt to join a Huddle based on a shared affinity or challenge (for example, single parents, parents of BIPOC children, parents of middle schoolers, parents with 2+ children)I attend a Huddle on Wednesdays from 8 to 9 p.m. and the topic is self-care. We are seven women total, including two who skillfully facilitate the group (one is a therapist). At first, I felt tired at the thought of attending at 8 p.m., but now I look forward to it. I made sure we had our proper dinner and I hurried through the dishes to get on Google Meet tonight.
The latest twist in town is that our school superintendent is suing the local teachers’ union (which includes staff and custodians) for refusal to open the schools.
We have three public middle schools here--that’s Skippy’s level--for grades 6, 7 and 8. Skip’s school alone has 700 kids.
We have a lot of kids with no out-of-home structure.
It’s a long haul. May angels watch over us all.
Good night.
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School is such a tough issue. I have several friends who are teachers and they are caught between their mission and their safety, (and their families’ safety). And it appears everyone in a position to make decisions and put in place effective policies to make it safe on a practical level has spent their whole time wringing their hands and hoping things will just magically get better, instead of figuring it out together.
ReplyDeleteNo question the kids are suffering, and parents, mostly mothers, as well.
All I can offer is sympathy.
Nan
Hi friend. Thanks for the insights. Right, it must be a crisper view to have friends who are teachers. I think of the nice woman down the block here--she has to teach elementary school math from home all day and her own two young girls, I think ages K and 2? have to do school from home. I just don’t know what the right answer is. I care about the teachers but this is really dragging on here. One thing is that I think teachers should be considered frontline workers....and get the vaccine in earlier waves, you know? But then I guess there are so many teachers that the CDC could not do it that way (health workers, police officers, aides for the elderly first). Sending best wishes to you and yours. xxl
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